The nation's first human rights diplomatic crisis began in the 1780s, when the "Barbary Pirates" seized two dozen American sailors and took them to Tripoli. The weak and indecisive U.S. government, operating under the Articles of Confederation, was powerless to act, leaving a cast of famous and infamous characters to debate whether to pay ransom, go to war, or sign peace treaties.

Dr. Rowly Brucken is a Professor of History who specializes in the history of international human rights law. He is working on a broad survey of American human rights diplomacy from the American Revolution to the end of the Cold War, from which this subject is taken.